


Those Who Swim Together, Stick Together

by ericsonclan



Series: We are Monsters, We are Proud AU [16]
Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, First Day of School, Friendship, Gen, Sea Monsters, Selkies, Swimming Pools
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:20:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26128666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericsonclan/pseuds/ericsonclan
Summary: Brody is nervous on her first day at school and decides to check out the school pool where she meets a friendly monster.
Relationships: Brody & Willy (Walking Dead: Done Running)
Series: We are Monsters, We are Proud AU [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1699969
Kudos: 5





	Those Who Swim Together, Stick Together

**Author's Note:**

> (by Linnea)

“105… Room 105,” Brody whispered over and over again to herself. She really hated first days in any place that she was new. She always felt sick to her stomach, her heart racing nonstop as she begged for the day to end even one second quicker. But the first days at school, they were much worse. Especially since she had never been to school before. Growing up she had always been with rookery; no matter where they had traveled along the ocean they always stuck together. Teaching each other and helping each other learn the best way to be a strong and helpful member of the rookery. 

But that wasn’t her life anymore. Not since her mom had agreed to her dad’s terms and sent Brody off to live in the human world. To live among them and - as her dad always put it - be more like them. She knew her parents had the best intentions at heart, but that didn’t help her anxiety disappear. If anything the pressure of making sure it worked for her parents made the anxiety worse. At least her father had been able to find a monster school not far from his house. There was at least that small blessing. 

Her eyes searched the hall carefully. She wanted to make sure that she didn’t miss her very first class of the day. Her hands absentmindedly began to grip harder around her sealskin, pulling it closer towards her and wrapping it tighter around her shoulders. The selkie continued to look around the hallway, her nerves starting to get the better of her as she felt the sweat start to pool in her hands. _Come on, Brody. You’ve got this!_ Brody tried to psych herself up. Whether it was going to work or not it was still too early to tell. 

That's when she noticed the right number, 105, displayed over the door. With a quick sigh of relief the selkie opened the door and was surprised to see so many different monsters already in class. Some of them glanced up at her. A student whose body was completely wrapped in old linen cloth stared up at her, their eyes the only part of their face visible outside of the cloths. Another student glanced at her for a few seconds. They looked like a giant ragdoll. Brody found their mismatched button eyes slightly unnerving; the fact that they had a few needles protruding from some of their limbs didn’t help. Brody felt her heart drop at her own quick judgement. Internally scolding herself, Brody made her way to the middle of the classroom where a few seats were still free. 

Sitting down with a sigh, she placed down her notebook and pencil, ready for the class to begin. There was still about five minutes left before class started, five minutes that Brody wished with her whole heart would go by in a flash. After a minute of sitting down, Brody started to feel the anxiety rising again. A small bead of sweat trickled down her face. Raising up a hand, Brody brushed it away. _I’ve never been so anxious that I’ve sweated this much._ Brody felt the sweat reappear on her forehead. She continued to ponder this when out of the corner of her eyes she noticed what looked like to be a reddish orange flame dancing in the air. Her tongue got caught in her throat. Was there a fire on the first day of school? But when she turned her head towards the source she was surprised to see a fire elemental. The short flames on the top of his head swirled with the gentle breeze when he turned to look at her.

“Hey there, you a freshman?” He gave a small smile. The flames around his body seemed to dance a bit brighter. 

“T-that's right,” Brody tried to give a kind smile towards her fellow classmate. “You?”

“Yep. My name’s Aasim.” 

“Brody,”

“Nice to meet you, Brody,” He offered his hand that sparked a new flame on it. Brody looked at it with a worrisome face that made the fire elemental’s own eyes travel down to his hand. “Oh yeah, sorry.” He retracted his hand, letting it fall back down to his side. The two remained quiet for a moment before Aasim noticed Brody brush away some more sweat. Without warning he stood up and picked up his desk, moving it over slightly, causing a slow, steady line of smoke to emit from the melted part of the eraser he had touched although the rest of his desk seemed to handle his heat just fine.

“Damn it,” Aasim whispered under his breath at the now misshapen lump that used to be his eraser. “Sorry that I was too close. I’m not used to being around so many people so gotta watch my flames.”

“It’s okay,” Brody gave a warm smile. “I’m not used to being around so many people either,” She pulled on the corner of her sealskin. Aasim was about to comment on that when the door opened and slammed shut. The sound of hooves clicking against the tiled floor, echoing through the room. There, making his way forward towards the whiteboard, was a satyr with grey fur covering his legs. His white curled horns stood out prominently against it. He looked at the students with tired brown eyes. 

“Hey there,” He gave a small, noncommittal wave before beginning to scratch his rough grey beard. “I’m Chuck, Charles if you’re fancy. I’ll be your homeroom teacher this year.” He looked around at the classroom, the contents of which were filled with bored and nervous expressions. “Anyway, let’s get-” He stopped when the door slammed open, revealing a girl who seemed just as surprised as the other students. Her eyes remained wide for a moment before falling. Her ears followed suit, looking akin to wolf ears. With that and the blonde, fluffy tail that fell flat against her pant leg, Brody put together what kind of monster she was: a werewolf. Not glancing up, she sat down in the empty seat next to Brody, not bothering to look her way. It seemed like as soon as she had entered the room the werewolf had put her walls up.

“Okay, anyway. Is everyone here now?” Chuck looked around the room before sighing and picking up a clipboard with a few pages on it. “Either way I’m going to start taking attendance.”

One by one he called out the student’s names, soon landing on the selkie’s. 

“Here!” Brody’s voice cracked, causing her to slide down further into her chair in embarrassment. First impressions were everything and she had just messed it up. The satyr continued down the page, reading off a few more names.

“Violet Miller,” 

“Here,” the werewolf next to Brody grumbled, crossing her arms as she hunched over in her spot. Chuck nodded, checking off the box next to her name before continuing. It only took a few more minutes for him to finish. The rest of the homeroom went by without a hitch and soon Brody was entering the first day of some of the other classes. There was so much to learn at school: history, math, science, home ec, that it was starting to overwhelm the small selkie. Luckily lunch time rolled around. She noticed Violet’s tail wag wildly at that, the werewolf making an immediate beeline to the cafeteria. Brody searched around the room and noticed that she hadn’t really talked with anyone else besides Aasim today and they didn’t have class together before lunch. So she decided to just grab whatever was available at the cafeteria that seemed tasty and sat down by herself. 

Under the shade of a small tree, Brody enjoyed her food before the bell rang and signaled the beginning of class again. Reluctantly Brody marched back inside the school, ready for the day to be over. To her luck the rest of the classes seemed to go by in no time. Brody stood up as soon as the bell rang and disappeared into the halls, hoping to pass the overwhelming crowd of monster classmates that would soon crowd the hallways. Putting away her books, she slipped the backpack on her back, placing it delicately over her sealskin. Her eyes wandered the hallway, wondering if there was anywhere she could hide to get away from the crowd. If she could just get away for a few minutes, the hallway would clear out and she could get back home to her warm, comforting seal tank, letting herself back into her seal form. 

With that hope in mind, Brody speed walked down the hall, her eyes scanning the different doors and signs until she landed on one that piqued her interest: Pool. After double checking that she’d read it right, she turned to her right. Her eyes practically sparkled with joy. If the pool wasn’t occupied, then she would be able to get into her seal form even quicker. Not only that, but maybe it would prove the perfect place to hide and get away from everyone when her anxiety became too much to handle. When she had reached the end of the corridor, her nose was hit with a strong smell of chlorine which made her smile grow. Peeking her head into the room, she felt her excitement explode as a small barking sound escaped her lips. There in the center of the room was a giant pool that reached 8 feet deep. Its calming, serene water tempted the selkie who rushed to get her backpack off. Throwing it to the side, Brody kicked off her sneakers, hopping on one foot before landing at the edge of the pool. She bounced happily on the balls of her feet, getting ready to transform into her seal form when an unfamiliar voice appeared behind her.

“Here to swim?”

“Gah!” Brody spun around sharply, her sealskin falling to the ground when she lost her balance and fell into the pool. A large splashing sound rang through the room as Brody shot up for the pool, spitting out water as her hair laid flat over her eyes. 

“Oh, sorry,” The young voice apologized. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Brody slicked back her hair, casually kicking her feet to remain above water. Her pale blue eyes wandered up and over towards the voice and were surprised by what she saw. 

There standing before her was some sort of fishlike creature that looked like a kid. His scaly, greenish-blue skin shone in the sunlight. His gills slowly expanded and filled before deflating. On his wrist were two plastic containers that seemed to be filled with some sort of liquid. Small tubes attached to the container and were directly injected into the monsters’ veins. He stared at Brody for a moment, his eyes a grey greenish murky color akin to the look of swamp water. When he blinked his eyes closed vertically before continuing to stare. Once he realized he had been looking at her too long he shook his head, causing his damp brown hair to flop over slightly.

“It’s okay,” Brody finally found her voice and made her way over to the edge of the pool.

“I don’t see many other monsters drop by here after school.” The boy held one of his arms behind his back with his other, his webbed fingers wrapping around the arm. He gave a shy smile when he suddenly saw the dappled grey seal skin. HIs webbed feet slapped against the floor as he walked over. “Oh. I didn’t see that you dropped that. Let me-”

“No!” Brody’s voice cracked, causing the fish monster to freeze in place. “You can’t pick that up.”

“Okay, okay,” The fish creature’s hands shot up. “Why?” He tilted his head to the side.

“Because if you do, then I’d be forced to marry you.” Brody placed her hands on the edge of the pool and used her arm strength to pull her body up. SHe landed with a soft thud before proceeding to clutch onto the sealskin.

“Really?” The large eyes of the fish monster grew even larger.

“No,” Brody shook her head. “But I wouldn’t be able to change back into my seal form.”

An excited fish sound escaped the creature who bounced in place. “You’re a sea monster like me?!?!” He took a few steps closer. “How do you change into a seal? Can you communicate with other sea mammals? Can you do cool flips?”

Brody felt overwhelmed by the questions now that the fish creature was closer. The strong smell of seaweed that emitted from him was even stronger close up. But she didn’t mind that.

“I can show my seal form if you want,” Brody rose to her feet, causing the creature to dance a bit.

“Yes!” He pumped his fists in the air. 

Brody gave a soft chuckle before tossing the sealskin over her head. Taking a few steps back, she ran towards the pool and with a graceful dive entered the depths of the water. The water around her clouded, small bubbles popping up when she emerged, now changed into her seal form. The beautiful dappled grey of her skin shimmered from the water. 

The fish creature looked in awe, his mouth dropping in shock. “That. Was. So. Cool!” He jumped in the air, unable to contain his excitement. “Can I swim with you?” His eyes shone with anticipation. 

Brody let out a bark, flapping her front fins together before jumping up and backflipping into the water. With a happy cry the fish creature took off the containers on his wrists. “Oh, I forgot to tell you my name,” He gave a huge grin. “I’m Willy.”

Brody tilted her head. Her whiskers twitched when suddenly her face fell. 

Willy looked at her with a confused expression when it hit him. “Oh, sorry, I thought you could talk in your seal form.”

Brody shook her head.

“That’s okay,” Willy took a few steps back before cannonballing into the pool. He giggled loudly as he shot up from the water, waving his hair around wildly, sprinkling the selkie with water. “So, whatcha wanna do?” Willy bobbed in the water. “Oh, oh! Let’s have a race! Does that sound fun?”

Brody let out a happy bark and with that the two swam over to one of the ends of the pool.

“On your mark... get set... Go!’ Willy screamed, diving forward as he kicked his webbed feet and pushed the water down fiercely with his arms, propelling himself across the pool. But Brody was no pushover; she dove deep and using fast spins and her strong fins she caught up with the fish monster, soon surpassing him. Her nose bopped against the other end of the pool right before Willy’s webbed hand had hit it. 

“Awww,” Willy gave a sad groan. “One more time?” He looked over at the selkie with a smile that only grew when she agreed. With that the pair started once again and even though the result was the same Willy seemed happy. After that the two sea monsters swam around together, enjoying each other’s cool styles as they dove underwater showing various tricks and skills. Before they knew it, it was five, causing a worried sound to emit from the selkie as she transformed back. Brody rose up, taking the seal skin and placing it around her shoulders once again. 

“That was so much fun!” Willy jumped up from the water, slapping his wet webbed feet on the floor. 

Brody glanced over at Willy and shared a happy smile. “Yeah it really was.” She looked over at the clock once again. “I really should get going though.” She moved towards her bag, tossing it over her shoulder before getting her shoes on while Willy put back on his wrist containers.

“Wait!” Willy sprinted over. “You never told me your name!”

“Oh sorry, I’m Brody.”

“Well, Brody, are you going to come to the pool again tomorrow?” Willy swayed back and forth impatiently on his feet. Brody’s eyes widened at the question that caused Willy to look confused.

“Why are you shocked?”

“Oh, umm, I don’t know. I just hadn’t thought about that.” Brody played with her sealskin.

“Well, I’m here after school almost every day. I go to Ericson Junior High. It's in the building right next to the high school. So I try to swim whenever I get a chance. Besides, us sea monsters gotta stick together, right?” He flashed her a cheerful smile.

“Right,” Brody nodded, a warm smile playing on her lips.

“Awesome! Man, I can’t wait for tomorrow. It’s a deal,” Willy extended his webbed hand which Brody accepted, shaking it gladly. 

“Well, I better head out or my dad will get mad. I’ll see you tomorrow, Willy!” Brody gave a friendly wave as she exited the room. 

Willy waved back wildly with a huge grin. “I can’t wait!”

Brody continued on, speeding through the now empty hallways. A happy, excited feeling filled her heart. She had actually made a friend today, a sea creature friend at that! She felt herself smile. 

Maybe school wouldn't be so bad after all. In fact, she couldn’t wait to come back tomorrow.


End file.
